Belmont Stakes Japan Poll Betting Misses Projected Targets

With the 2017 Belmont Stakes (G1) not featuring either winner of the previous two Triple Crown races (Always Dreaming – Kentucky Derby, Cloud Computing – Belmont Stakes), it lost some star power and money wagered on the race. With the pre-race scratch of Japanese-bred Epicharis it also lost some international flair, however, even without Epicharis the Belmont Stakes became the first U.S. Triple Crown race that was simulcasted in Japan.

Both Churchill Downs officials and New York Racing Association (NYRA) officials hope that additional Triple Crown races are simulated in Japan going forward. Doing so would expand interest in racing, increase TV and sponsorship opportunities, and provide an opportunity to bring in more revenue through wagering.

Thanks to a law change in 2015, Japan is allowed to simulcast a limited number of international horse races for wagering. In a separate Japan pool, wagering on this year’s Belmont Stakes brought in a handle of $4,698,525. The NYRA will receive a percentage fee from the Japan poll betting handle.

“NYRA will get half that fee and the horsemen will get half, so it helps our purse account for the horsemen,” said New York Racing Association Senior Vice-President of Racing Operations Martin Panza. “It’s a percentage of what’s bet over there. So we’re growing our business for NYRA; we’re helping our horsemen; and we’re trying to get into more international markets. It really doesn’t matter that much what the final number is, because we’re just getting started with this.”

Prior to the start of the Belmont Stakes, NYRA officials projected wagering on the third Triple Crown race to come in anywhere from $10-$20 million. However, once Epicharis was scratched from the race, interest in Japan declined.

In order to lure a Japanese-bred horse to run in the Belmont Stakes, the NYRA offered a $1 million bonus to any horse from Japan if they won the Belmont, in addition to the original winning purse prize. The NYRA already plans to offer a similar bonus in 2018.